Decoled Turns Cities into Light Wonders

Interview for Forbes.cz, November 2024.

You launched the light parks only three years ago, yet today they make up a significant part of your business. How have they changed the company?

Enormously. We have doubled in size since then. We grow by 25 per cent every year, and last year the light parks alone brought growth of as much as 50 per cent. We used to have around fifty employees; today we have nearly sixty, during the season there will be up to two hundred, and we still struggle with a shortage of people. In the past we began with cities, then we added shopping centres, and this year, thanks to our work abroad, the light parks will make up the largest part of the business. We first exhibited in Prague, at Žluté lázně (the Yellow Baths), last year in 7 parks, and this year we are preparing fifteen. The e-shop makes up a smaller part of the business, and the smallest part is sales in our own bricks-and-mortar shop at the Christmas Court in Dobrovíz and in a retail unit at OC POP Tuchoměřice, with another in Bratislava.

That is quite a leap. How are you coping?

Yes, and that is why we have to make many changes across the whole company. Turning a small company into a large one well is generally a painful step in every business. We have no choice: we must set up processes and, in a way, build the whole operation anew.

In 1997 you started with a turnover of three million. What did your turnover look like last year, and what do you expect this year?

Last year we grew from 120 million to 180 million crowns. This year we expect a turnover of 250 million crowns. That is partly because we have taken the light parks abroad as well.

Let us stay in the Czech Republic for a moment. This year you lit up seven parks at home, each with its own theme. What can people look forward to in the parks?

We give each place a theme that suits its setting. In Prague we have prepared space adventures with an interactive space trail; at Špilberk Castle in Brno we want to bring medieval castle life closer, so we set the story in the time of Christmas; the industrial Dolní Vítkovice in Ostrava is made for a futuristic story; in Pardubice the lights tell a winter tale at the chateau, with references to personalities and symbols of the town; in Příbram the lights complete the atmosphere around the Novák pond; in Ratměřice there is the Garden of Paradise; and in Český Krumlov we tell of the changes in life since the days of Anna Rožmberská of Rogendorf.

Which of the Czech parks is the most beautiful for you?

That is really hard to say; each is different and captivating in its own way. The space park in Prague is interesting for its scope and for the collaboration with astronomers and the Prague Planetarium; Špilberk is fascinating for the powerful atmosphere of the castle; I am fond of Ostrava for its distinctive space; but the chateau parks are very dear to me too…

You are currently active in thirteen foreign countries. Where can we find a Czech trace?

In France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Austria, Slovakia, Ireland, Italy, Hungary and Germany, where we managed to make a significant entry only two years ago with the light park in Chemnitz. The Germans are rather conservative, but with the light parks we helped them extend the season into winter. There was interest from Croatia and Canada as well, but mainly for logistical reasons we had to postpone the realisation.

Which of your foreign commissions do you consider the most prestigious?

Certainly the Passage du Havre shopping centre, which is something like the Prague Slovanský dům in the middle of Paris. The French are quite patriotic, and decorating such a centre in the heart of Paris is a lovely success. The parks in France and Ireland are interesting too.

Do you have a favourite among the light parks, one close to your heart?

Definitely the light park in Gödöllő in Hungary, which is inspired by the figure of Sisi. The park is in Gödöllő Palace on the outskirts of Budapest, where Sisi liked to take refuge, where she rode horses and where she felt happy. In Hungary, Sisi is regarded as a national symbol. When we opened the park, I felt incredible pride, which was also reflected in the attendance, several times higher in Gödöllő than in the Czech Republic.

I sensed a similar atmosphere in Komárno, on the Slovak side, but as soon as we opened the exhibition, the Hungarian side showed interest too. We opened the exhibition in the largest fortress in Europe, and we watched with astonishment as several television stations visited, including the main one, which put a short report into prime time.

Where do you have the biggest light parks?

Our biggest light parks are in Prague, Brno and Budapest. The space at Prague's Žluté lázně is not so extensive, but the exhibition, with its theme and the fairy-tale character of the magical Zvonek (Little Bell), who sees the space adventures through a child's eyes, is rather unique. I let Zvonek, whom I created in my fairy tale, travel through time and space with his message. He also travels to Špilberk in Brno and tells of life in a medieval castle and of old crafts, and of course he brings the legend of the dragon closer.

What is your attendance in Prague?

The first time, more than a hundred thousand people visited Žluté lázně. Last year, because of heavy snowfall, the events at the Prague faculty and later the great floods, attendance fell by almost half, but this year the numbers are rising again.

Does the foreign market make up a large part of your turnover?

The Czech Republic accounts for roughly 180 million crowns, and abroad 70 million.

How do cities approach the light parks?

Some more enlightened city representatives realise that a successful decoration or light exhibition helps a city to develop, to attract visitors and to become more attractive. People then return to those places in the summer too, and public space simply works better. Lighting decoration need not be merely “light smog”; it can also be an opportunity to spend time together and sometimes to be initiated into stories and traditions in an unobtrusive form, such as a family walk.

What do the light parks mean to you personally?

For me they are a way in which I would like to contribute to the cultivation of public space, since light exhibitions have entered public space as a phenomenon of sorts. I refuse to use technology without substance; I put story before form. I respect the place, and I love dignity and elegance. This year I occasionally had trouble with the colours in the space park, but my colleagues the astronomers were pleased with a certain colour authenticity. I enjoy every opportunity that reaches into art, literature, history and architecture. My aim is for the lights not only to tell stories but also to connect places and people. I am delighted by the shining faces of children, and of adults too. I like that, in this small joy, it can bring us together, at least for a moment, in today's restless society.

What are the trends in lighting?

I do not pay much attention to trends. Trends can be an inspiration. But the greatest trend, in my view, is originality and passion. Christmas should be welcoming. When I walk into a department store, the decoration should evoke the atmosphere of Christmas so that people feel good; in cities, so that people enjoy meeting one another. I prefer sophisticated playfulness and simplicity to ornamentation. We Czechs are fairly conservative; for us Christmas is still most popular in red, gold and silver. But in Belgium or France, for instance, orange and black are quite popular.

And what about the themes of the parks? Are you planning anything new?

Of course; whoever stands still is left behind… We are already working on further themes for next year, and to some extent on the forms too, but I am afraid to reveal them in case I jinx them.

Where else, apart from the light parks, can we admire your installations?

In the Czech Republic we light up around sixty shopping centres every year. Most of them are in Prague – Myslbek, POP Tuchoměřice, Slovanský dům, DBK, Nový Smíchov, Metropole Zličín, Galerie Nové Butovice, Novoplaza, Fénix, Bořislavka – then in Plzeň, Karlovy Vary, Most, Děčín and Teplice. You will find our lighting in three hundred towns and cities. Examples are Kolín, Jičín, Jablonec, Liberec, Třebíč… and Prague, where we look after roughly half of the decoration, including Wenceslas Square and the Old Town Square, the decoration of trams and buses, last year the cable car, and we also decorate refuse trucks.

How would you describe your current position on the market?

In the Czech Republic there is quite considerable competition from smaller and larger firms, but we are invited to tenders together with 2 other firms, originally from France and Austria. In the volume of commissions on the Czech market we are the largest. We sell lighting, we rent it, we prepare it completely to order and we service it. That is what worries us most at the moment, because we need ever larger storage space and a very strong personnel base, and we have to transform both while running.

What do you plan to do about it?

We are already considering moving part of our storage, and part of our production too, to other regions, for example Moravia and Slovakia, where it is easier to find a workforce. If we want to grow, such steps will be necessary.

Is there anything else you are struggling with now?

We attempted some personnel changes and delegation, but unfortunately those changes did not fully succeed. Logistics is also more complicated, and without adequate processes it is not entirely rational. Storage is also very demanding because of our seasonality. Once the season is over, many decisions await us. Unfortunately, a big problem is the ever-lengthening administration; we have been waiting for years for a building permit for a new hall.

Are you considering an investor?

We would prefer to remain on our own, but as our business is seasonal and the rest of the year is demanding on cash flow, such questions do arise. We are doing some research, for the light parks for example, because that part of the business could certainly be launched better with investment capital, but we would prefer to manage everything ourselves.

What is the greatest challenge ahead of you now? Your dream?

We are at a crossroads where we must clarify our further intentions. We must assess what is profitable. The budgets of cities and shopping centres, which stay the same or sometimes even shrink, offer no room for further development. We shall have to decide where to direct our energy, because some commissions no longer make economic sense. We also want to focus more on foreign markets, because the space in the Czech Republic is already rather tight for us, and abroad it is at the same time simpler. A city will readily support a private supplier there if it brings some added value. And the dream, with a touch of exaggeration, is to light up New York!

What are you planning for next year?

We shall extend the family of light parks to further countries, and certainly to parks in Hungary, Slovakia and Germany. We declined an enquiry from Canada because it came relatively late. At the same time we are thinking about other continents. First we need to familiarise ourselves with the legislation and all the conditions. In Europe we would like to enter Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and other countries.

You were originally a teacher of Czech at a grammar school. Do you miss it?

Yes, sometimes I feel wistful, but I have no regrets. I love creativity and I still gladly accept new challenges. I loved my students and my work, but in a way I carry it into what I do today in the form of light stories, when I want the exhibitions to reach beyond themselves, to be poetic and indeed educational. I would very much like to finish writing the fairy tales with my guide Zvonek for all the settings, and perhaps a book could come of it. I also return to my original purpose, from long ago, in my podcasts, which I began making last year with experts from public life, aptly named V dobrém světle (In a Good Light).

Published: Forbes.cz, 25 December 2024.